NBA Rookie Power Rankings: Markelle Fultz return makes Sixers even scarier playoff foe

The Philadelphia 76ers are one of the hottest teams in the league, and rapidly moving toward a possible No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference after years of futility, both intentional and unintentional. It's not often that a team playing this well gets an injection of life from the No. 1 overall NBA Draft pick heading into the postseason, but that's exactly the gift-wrapped combo guard that Philly has received with the return of Markelle Fultz.

Fultz had been one of the strangest and saddest stories of the season -- from his broken shooting mechanics to his enigmatic shoulder injury -- but if his first two games back are any indication, he's going to provide a nice boost for an already-dangerous Sixers team heading into the playoffs.

Fellow rookie Ben Simmons has been phenomenal, but the Sixers have not fared well with Joel Embiid off the court all season. Especially with the news that Embiid might miss part or all of their opening-round series with the big man set to undergo facial surgery, Fultz's scoring and playmaking ability is needed now more than ever. He can spell Simmons at point guard or play alongside him with Embiid off the court, giving Brett Brown options that he simply didn't have for most of the season.

There will still be questions about Fultz's shot and his confidence, but he looked great in limited minutes in his first two games back, which earned him the final spot in this week's NBA Rookie Power Rankings.

This week's NBA Rookie Power Rankings

1	Ben Simmons Philadelphia 76ers PG
Last week: 1 Stats this week: 11.7 points, 11.3 assists, 11.0 rebounds Simmons turned it up to 11 this week and finally did it -- he averaged a triple-double for the entire week as he led Philly to a 3-0 record. There's not much else left to say about Simmons' rookie campaign, one of the best we've seen in NBA history, and now the focus turns to the playoffs. Will Simmons' lack of shooting be exploited in a seven-game series, or will he run wild like a runaway train, destroying everything in his path? We're not sure, but we can't wait to find out.
2	Donovan Mitchell Utah Jazz SG
Last week: 2 Stats this week: 26.0 points, 5.0 assists, 2.3 steals Mitchell was more inefficient than usual this week, but he actually shot much better from the 3-point line (38 percent on 29 attempts). It took Mitchell 36 shots to get his 35 points in a heroic effort against the Spurs, but this is where stats can be deceiving -- the Jazz needed Mitchell to shoot that much to have a chance in the game, and he nearly pulled it off by taking over late and forcing overtime. Mitchell scored or assisted on every Jazz possession in the final 2:12 of regulation, and made some huge plays against another team fighting for its playoff life -- a good indication that he'll be able to keep it up once the postseason begins. "There's an innocence about him," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said of Mitchell's late-game moxie. "He doesn't know what he's not afraid of yet. ... I think he loves competing, and when you're competing you're not thinking about what could go wrong -- you're just thinking about the opportunity you have."
3	Kyle Kuzma Los Angeles Lakers PF
Last week: 5 Stats this week: 21.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists Lonzo Ball's injury woes aside, the Lakers have to be thrilled with their rookie class this season. Ball and Josh Hart have been solid, but Kuzma is the unquestioned gem -- at least so far in their careers. The Utah product has been fantastic lately, seizing the opportunity with added minutes as the Lakers put up a 2-1 week. His scoring has been consistent over his last seven games, and he's reached double-digit rebounds in two of his last three games. The Lakers would have been fine with Kuzma being a solid bench scorer, but now it looks like he could be much more than that as he develops his all-around game.
4	Jayson Tatum Boston Celtics SF
Last week: 3 Stats this week: 16.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.0 steals With even more offensive responsibility this week due to the absence of Marcus Morris and the grogginess of Jalyen Brown as he returns from a concussion (in addition to Kyrie Irving and Marcus Smart being out), Tatum didn't disappoint. He led the Celtics to four wins, and managed 16 points on 6-for-15 shooting in a victory over the stingy Jazz defense. Depending on how long Kyrie's out, it's conceivable that Tatum could be the Celtics' leading scorer in the first round of the playoffs -- who would have imagined that before the season started?
5	Lonzo Ball Los Angeles Lakers PG
Last week: 7 Stats this week: 11.7 points, 8.7 assists, 6.7 rebounds Amid yet another shooting slump, it looks like Lonzo has backed off from the "shoot your way out of it" mold and settled back into a reasonable number of attempts. He took only 10 3-pointers this week, making three of them, after hoisting 19 last week and 24 the week before that. He also shot much more effectively from 2-point range, making an encouraging 6-of-7 on pull-ups -- including one elusive jumper going to his right, something many felt was physically impossible given his unorthodox shooting form. The pull-up wasn't really part of Lonzo's game coming into the league, but it will become a huge asset for him and the Lakers if he can start hitting it consistently.
6	Dennis Smith Jr. Dallas Mavericks PG
Last week: 6 Stats this week: 18.0 points, 6.7 assists, 2.3 rebounds Smith returned in relatively short order from last week's ankle injury, and picked up right where he left off. His already-lofty usage rate climbed even further this week as the Mavs continue to get an extended look at their young players (aka sitting their vets for tanking purposes). As long as he stays healthy, we're going to see Smith go off once or twice between now and the end of the season.
7	Josh Jackson Phoenix Suns SG
Last week: 4 Stats this week: 19.0 points, 4.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds Jackson is still struggling to shoot the ball, but this week he showed some promising playmaking ability. He picked up four or more assists in three of his four games this week, something he had only done six times previously in his career. We didn't see Jackson dropping left-handed dimes like this at the beginning of the season, that's for sure.
8	Lauri Markkanen Chicago Bulls PF
Last week: Unranked Stats this week: 15.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists The Bulls are understandably being extremely cautious with Markkanen, who returned to the lineup for two of the Bulls' four games this week after suffering from back spasms. Despite his sporadic schedule, Markkanen has kept on producing, shooting 50 percent from the field and 38 percent from the 3-point line this week. He'll probably sit a few more games as the season winds down, since the Bulls are already pleased that Markkanen is well ahead of schedule.
9	Jarrett Allen Brooklyn Nets C
Last week: Unranked Stats this week: 10.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.7 blocks Allen got pushed around a bit in Sunday's loss to the Cavs, but that will happen occasionally given his slight frame. He had a solid 13-point, seven-rebound, three-block performance in a close loss to the Raptors, but even more impressive was the fact that he went 7-for-7 from the free-throw line. That's the sign of a good shooting stroke, and he's been slowly testing his range over the course of the season.
10	Markelle Fultz Philadelphia 76ers PG
Last week: Unranked Stats this week: 6.5 points, 7.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds Just when we'd given up on Fultz playing again this season, he makes a surprise return to the Philly lineup. He only played 28 total minutes this week, but he was impressive enough to earn a spot in the rankings by making a visible impact on the game in limited minutes -- 7.5 assists per game in 14 minutes is pretty insane. The question on everyone's mind was how Fultz's jumper was going to look, and ... hey, not bad! There's still a slight hitch, but this looks much smoother than what we saw in Fultz's first stint on the court this season. We didn't get to see him shoot a free throw in his two games, which could be coincidence, but players who struggle from the line have admitted that it sometimes affects their willingness to draw fouls. So that's something to keep an eye on moving forward.